My project is titled Holographic Nature.  This series challenges commonly held beliefs about how the universe is constructed and experienced.  The holographic principle suggests everything—objects, people, geography—is simply information contained on a two-dimensional plane.  This plane appears as the multi-dimensional reality we experience.  My images represent nature as a synthesis of the two-dimensional boundary and our perception of reality.  I illustrate the boundary by stretching images to emphasize their flat quality, and layer them with images of our visible reality.  Each individual work illustrates multiple image states—similar to how nature is constantly in flux, and how indestructible quantum particles exist in multiple states at the same time. Monitors are used to convey that not only could the universe be holographic in nature, but also a simulation.

A common misconception about the holographic principle is that means that the world literally is hologram but it’s actually a statement about how the world is constructed.  A hologram creates a seemingly 3-D image from a 2-D surface, which is why the holographic principle got its name. 

This all began back in the 70’s with black holes.  Stephen Hawking created an amazing equation that combined quantum physics, the theory of relativity, and information.  This equation describes what would happen to an object when it reaches the singularity, or the center, of a black hole.  He thought that the information needed to construct the object disappeared, leaving only the energy.  This sparked a lot of debate with experts because Hawking’s idea violated the foundation of physics—that information cannot be destroyed.  This would create a lot of paradoxes in physics. 

After many years of debate, Gerard t’ Hooft proposed the holographic principle, and it was developed further by Leonard Susskind.  They found that when an object crosses the event horizon which is the 2-D boundary around the black hole a copy of objects information is stored on the boundary of the black hole well the physical object is lost inside theoretically it is possible to reconstruct that object using the data on the 2D spatial boundary. The space inside a black hole works the same way space outside a black hole would work, and the math checks out.  So it is possibly our reality is something like a hologram. As it is a new theory, the small details are still being debated about today. 

I think the holographic principle is important because quantum mechanics could be the key to humanity’s success in the future.  I want to get people interested in or at least aware of the fact that reality as they experience it is not concrete and stable, but always changing.  The ideas that I’m exploring are representative of something that might not matter in day to day life, but critical to the progression of humanity as a species.

The medium I have chosen to represent my ideas about the holographic principle is photography.  Photography appears to capture reality most accurately, compared to other traditional art forms.  It is a medium closely tied to the idea of truth as evidenced in its use in court, as sources of historical knowledge, and as documentation of events and people in the news.  That is why I find the medium so fitting to express my ideas about an uncertain reality.  Manipulating photographs opens the doors for possibilities, like how reality could be manipulated or how it could be constructed. 

My digital practice is based in discovery through experimental fieldwork.  I journey to different locations where nature thrives and there is little industrial disturbance.  I’ve been to Wintergarden, Fuller Preserve, Slippery Elm Trail, Wildwood Park, Black Swamp Preserve, Bradner Preserve, Adam Phillips Pond, Carter Historical Farm. There is something dreamlike about the experience of being completely immersed in nature with civilization nowhere in sight.  My thoughts drift to theories about the holographic universe as I document my experience with my camera.  It is challenging not to get lost in the moment, because I have to remember my way back out.  When I return to my computer, I start with a base image.  The image reveals to me what it needs, and I search through other images looking to fulfill it.  Finding the right images involves a combination of intuition and risk taking.  An image is complete when it strikes a delicate balance between familiarity and implausibility. 

I arranged my images in the grid format I image them to be as of now.  I may change the order later.  Having completed my images I have found more research on the holographic principle which I have compiled here. The first video is a great summary of it, but doesn’t get into any detail or nuance. The second video gives a little more context to how the holographic principle came about, and is an interview with Leonard Susskind, one of the pioneers of the holographic principle.  The final video is highly recommended because it goes in much more depth and is a lecture by Leonard Susskind on the holographic principle.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/sidebar-the-holographic-p/

https://www.wired.com/2011/08/hawking-holographic-universe/

I am pretty happy with the way these two images turned out. They will definitely go into my final.  The editing process was not too bad for these, and the first one went really quickly.  I only needed four layers. I can’t say the same for the second one, but I’m fairly pleased with how it turned out.  I like the colors and the compositions of these images.  Sometimes I can get on a roll when I’m editing and this was one of those times.

I am continuing editing the images I have taken.  I played around with the tree image from my last post, and got the first image you see. I think I changed it enough, but looking at it now the color is even more similar to my three suns and tree image, so maybe I’ll change it again, even though i like the color.  It looks like gold dust from a distance.  The second image is finalized for the most part.It took a while to arrive at this image, and as usual I made a bunch of versions.  I have a version without the sun, but I ended up liking the sun.  The last image I also went through quite a few versions and compositions before I arrived at it.  I’m not sure it will make the final cut though.

I am no longer taking picking and am focusing on editing.  The first image is the finalized version of the image I posted last time.  This one was fun to edit.  The second image I don’t think I will keep but I spend some time on it. I may come back to it, but probably not because it was taken over the summer and doesn’t fit with the rest of my series.  I hit the data limit for wordpress, so I have to resize my images and upload them to Flickr and paste the link. I have made multiple versions of the images below.  The top one in particular, I edited by carefully adjusting the hue of various parts of the image like the red leaves and “sky.”  The third image I might come back too, but for now I have to step away and consider it over a few days.  The same with the last one. I’m not really feeling them. The top one is my favorite.

As a result of refocusing on the Holographic Principle, I realized that all except one image I showed for my BFA midterm I did not fit with my series, so I am focusing on editing and producing more images rather than shooting to make up for those.  I have more images to show than the ones below, but I have reached my upload limit, and I think deleting images would delete them from my site entirely, so I am not sure if I should do that.  The other images were different versions of the two I uploaded, so you get the main images below but you can’t see what it took to get there.

Over the weekend I went to Adam Phillips Pond, which interestingly enough, was next to a correctional facility, and Carter Historical Farm, which wasn’t far from that.  I was glad to get some shots of water finally to diversify my landscapes.  It was a workday today, so I also made one more image (the last image).  I have several versions saved so after sleeping on it I will finalize it this week.  The first five images are a sample of some of the images I took from over the weekend, and I edited them in class today too.

I have five new images and reworked two, according to the feedback I got from the BFA Midterm.  Several of the faculty said my two images with circles did not fit with my series so I modified them.  People said they were too graphic looking, so I faded the harsh lines of the circles to make them fit better.  Those images are images one and two in the order below.  Some other feedback I got was to focus on the Holographic Universe Principle more.  I did that with the images three to five.  Like I have explained in past blog posts, the Holographic Universe Principle is the idea that our reality is the result of information spread out on a 2D surface.  This would make our reality something like a hologram.  This theory originates from the discovery that when an object falls into a black hole, a copy of the information to make that object is store on the 2D surface of the black hole, while the psychical object is lost in the black hole.  Theoretically, it would be possible to recreate the object with the 2D information on the outside of the black hole.  I illustrate the Holographic Principle by magnifying an image to emphasize it’s 2D quality, and overlaying that with the source image, like the copy of 2D information on the outside of the black hole.  The source image represents our reality, and is itself as a photo, which captures our 3D world and presents it as a 2D image.

I do have 7+ images completed, which is according to my production calendar.  I have more than that, actually, but I don’t feel that they are all equally cohesive in quality and theme, so I am making more, and modifying existing images.

Over the weekend I went to Bradner Preserve.  I was amazed by how beautiful it was.  There was a variety of trails and scenery.  Unfortunately, one of my SD cards got corrupted and I lost 2 gigs of photos I took there, but on the bright side, at least it wasn’t one of my 16 gig cards, and I got some naturally glitched files out of it.

There was a critique today, and I got some useful advice. In the coming weeks I will edit and rework some images based on the feedback I got from my professors and peers.

I have been editing my photos based on the feedback I got during my midterm.  The first and last photos are images i have reworked because the feedback I got was that they were too graphic-like, and did not fit with the other images.  I also stuck with the holographic principle in the way I edited my images, stretching them and overlaying them onto the image to create a multi-leveled, illusory effect.  The new images are mostly works in progress, with the second and fourth being more finalized.

I also talked to Jason about what I will need to display my piece in the gallery.  I will have to use one circuit for my nine displays, and I will need nine media players, and nine flashdrives.  I bought a pack of ten flash drives last night.  The displays are LED, and I will need time to set it up and test the color accuracy.  He said it will take a while to set it up, and likened it to building a house, so he suggested I don’t actually hang the displays but set them up on the floor for my December defense.  He also said the best place for it would be in the corner of the gallery by Jackie’s office, so the wires can go up and over the wall. He advised I start hanging the monitors from the bottom up, and recommended I use an inch or two of space between monitors because otherwise it would be very difficult to accurately place the hanging mounts for the displays to be tightly placed.

On Friday, I gave my presentation and got some good advice.  My notes that I took after the presentation consist of:

-Narrow focus

-2 circle images don’t fit

-Focus on holographic universe theory

-Listen to the landscape when I’m out shooting

-Printing images adds 2D-ness if I’m focusing on the holographic universe principle

-Kim said my concept is up her alley

-Using screens because of the simulation hypothesis is good

-Dena feels like she is experiencing the holographic universe when she is out shooting

Keeping these things in mind, I went out shooting in Wildwood Park.  I was amazed by what a nice park it was, complete with a picturesque covered bridge and a winding boardwalk high above the forest.  These are a sample of the images which I have edited.

It was a work day today and I spent the day editing the images I took over the weekend.  I also received good advice from my professors and peers on my progress. The following are the images I made/reworked.  The colors are not web friendly, so they are not 1 to 1 representations.

The Holographic Universe Principle is simply put, the idea that our reality is the result of information spread out on a 2D surface, making our world comparable to a hologram. This theory is valid because when an object falls into a black hole a copy of its information is spread out on the surface of the black hole.  With the right method, it is theoretically possible to reconstruct the object using the 2D data.  I exemplify this in my images by taking an image and spreading it out very wide emphasizing the 2D-ness of the image.  The idea is represented in all of my images to some degree, but is perhaps most noticeably featured in the first image.

In the second image I was inspired by the Multiverse Theory, which is the theory that there are multiple universes. This idea is exemplified through the circle as a metaphor for several time related things including a wormhole, a clock, and the sun. The different colors used on the same scenery conveys that the scene takes place in different realities.

The third and fifth images are meant to convey the idea of Eternalism, or the idea that all time is happening at once.  In the third image I’m going to replace the sepia-toned oval with a picture of the same place in the winter time. The ovals sepia tone as a shorthand for old film, and the oval is not hard edged, conveying the idea that both images bleed into each other, and are happening at the same time.  In the final image by overlaying water over the landscape I’m referring to when the landscape was actually underwater.

The fourth image depicts Plato’s Divided Line and the Theory of Forms.  Plato believed that there existed the world of appearance, which consisted of shadows and images and was the world of illusion, and the world of the forms, which consisted of ideas, mathematical forms, geometry and knowledge.  The line seen is meant to be the divided line dividing the two worlds.  On the right is the world of forms, and the left is the world of appearance.  Plato believed that the world of the forms was more real than the things that we saw.  To explain the theory of forms, imagine all the cats there are in the world. They are all cats but no one cat is more real than the other cats yet we have this idea of cat-ness.  That idea is unobservable, and real.  The cats we see are illusions, according to Plato.  The cat can also be substituted for a circle, given that we cannot truly observe a perfect circle in nature, but we have the idea of one.

Over the weekend I went to the Black Swamp Preserve and Slippery Elm Trail.  It was beautiful, but hard to find my way around with no trail map available, and it rained lightly for a bit, but luckily cleared up after 10 minutes or so.  Thanks to the rain, I got some interesting shot of the clouds breaking.  The following are a small sample of the images I took at both locations.

There was a critique today as well where I presented my progress and received the following advice for the midterm.

-Include inspiration

-Incorporate quotes

-Include piece dimensions and gallery display

-Introduce self

-Why should we care

It was an in class work day, and I got at least one other image I would consider finished (the first one) completed.  The colors are not accurate at all here (too saturated/not saturated enough), but on my computer they look good.  The first image shows the passage of time with the rising water.  My classmates helped critique my work in class which I found very helpful.   The second image is a previous version I made before I arrived at the first image.  The third image is completed, but I am unsure how I feel about it, and I might play more with the original image to change up the composition.  The forth image is a work in progress.

Unfortunately, I was having computer troubles that prevented me from going out and shooting over the break, but I plan to make up for it this weekend.  I am planning on going to the Black Swamp Preserve.

We went to the Jerome Library to talk about the Design Process, which I found interesting.  Maybe one day it will be part of my future job.  Over the weekend, I researched local parks to take photos at for my BFA.  I went to Wintergarden Park in the evening and took lot of pictures.  I have been editing them, and so far my favorite is the one of the tree with three suns.  I would consider this image finalized at this point, which means i have met my production goal of having one done by the end of this week.  The first three images here were completely/in-progress edited, and the last three are only basic edits at this point.  These are not representative of all the edits I have done, merely just a sample of some of my favorites.

I was really surprised by the Sight and Sound Exhibition given that I found something I really liked about almost all the pieces. The first piece I really liked which inspired me the most was one of the first pieces you see when you walk into the gallery.  It’s called Woldgate Woods, Winter by DavidHockney.  It is a setup of nine displays playing videos of the same woods shot with nine different cameras.  This setup is just like what I would want for my gallery display, if it is possible.  I originally thought I would have the images cycle through take up the display area of the combines 9 screens, but seeing this also gave me the idea of some one using a iPad to scroll through the images and choose different ones to fill up the screen to and a level of interactivity. I am not really sure how this would be done technically.  Maybe Powerpoint would be able to do it?

I also really loved all the prints by Kawase Hasui.  There isa kind of flatness in them thatI really admire.  The work which most stood out to me was Zōjō-ji in Shiba, because it reminded me of a film I watched over the summer called Millenium Actress.  When I saw this work I had a strong feeling that Satoshi Kon, the director, might have been inspired by this work because the colors are so similar to certain scenes in the movie.  Both works share muted, dull colors, which contrast the dark, yet saturated pop of red.  They both also take place in winter, at least early in the story in the case of Millenium Actress.  The girl with her back to the camera in Hasui’s print has an air of mystery just like the protagonist of the film.

At 20 North Gallery, we had a very informative talk with Condessa Croninger, the art director of the gallery.  We talked mostly about commercial galleries, on topics like how we might get into one, what the requirements are, what to do and not to do, (essentially follow all the directions and check out the gallery to see it it is the right fit for you.)  Other advice we got was to learn peoples’ names, to be polite, and to not show work at the same time in different galleries that are in close proximity to each other.  I also liked the advice that you just have to keep submitting and don’t be discouraged.  Also be respectful and promote the gallery showing your work.

We met with professors today to talk about our contracts. The following is the advice I received, and my reflections.

-Keep in mind the limits of the psychical image. An image alone may not communicate to people what my inspirations (scientific theories about the universe) are or what my piece is about. Some people will walk by and not read the artist statement.

Reflection- I am ok with my concept not being apparent through looks alone, or if people will not read the artist statement.  I will revise my goal for this piece to be to create something visually interesting and please to look at, that stands on its own merits as visually appealing, even without knowledge of my inspiration.  If my art intrigues people enough to read my artist statement, that would be a bonus, because I would like people to think about or at least be aware of the fact that the world is more complex than we consider it to be.

-Make a website or brochure to educate people about the scientific concepts driving my piece, or include AR and have a hologram of a person explain the concepts.

Reflection- These are interesting ideas I will keep in mind as the semester goes on.  I want to focus on getting really strong images for this project primarily which will require a lot of experimentation and fieldwork, but if I can reach my goal sooner than later, I would like to make a website.  I am not good at coding, and I have found the AR programs that we used in the AR class which do not require programing knowledge to be prone to not working when they need to.  A website would be cool though.